The townscapes and spaces that remain connect us today with the past.

• CATEGORY: History
• THEME: Streetscape
• Interviewee: Hiroshi Shoji, Nanokamachi Street Townscape Council

Light streaming in through the stained glass windows and warm orange lighting.

A solemn space with a calm atmosphere, yet a sense of tension that makes you stand a little straighter.

"This Shibukawa wholesaler was once the number one seafood wholesaler in Aizu."
This is also the place where Shibukawa Zensuke, the only civilian executed during the February 26 Incident, spent his childhood.
It is now a local cuisine restaurant and a symbolic presence on Nanokamachi Street.

These are the words of Hiroshi Shoji, representative of the Nanokamachi Street Townscape Council.

At the Shibukawa wholesaler's "Kaika Cafe" on Nanokamachi Street, Mr. Shoji points to a walking map he created himself and teaches you how to get around Nanokamachi.

"Nanokamachi Street was once the most vibrant shopping district in Aizu."

As times changed, the town's appearance also changed."

Shoji returned to Aizu in 2001.
He graduated from a university in Tokyo, worked in TV commercial production and for a newspaper company, and then returned to his hometown of Aizuwakamatsu. He is one of the three people who established the "Nanokamachi Street Townscape Council."

"When I returned, one in three houses in Nanokamachi was vacant. So, together with Mr. Shibukawa, the chairman of Shibukawa Wholesale and a friend from high school, we established a council."

Scattered throughout Nanokamachi Street, which is named the "Corridor of Happiness," are numerous shops and temples.
Nanokamachi Street, boasting a tranquil landscape that makes use of old buildings, is introduced as a perfect tourist area for strolling and exploring the town.

"We personally reached out to people who wanted to open new businesses in the vacant storefronts."

There are many historically valuable buildings here, so I felt that things couldn't continue as they were."

Shoji pointed to a certain intersection.

"If you look at the town center, 'Omachi Yotsukado,' you'll notice that the roads are slightly offset. That's a remnant of the waterway that used to run through here."

Slight discrepancies in the layout of the area allow us to imagine the lives of the townspeople and merchants of the past.

"At Amidaji Temple, there is a grave of an unknown soldier who died alongside Saito Hajime of the Shinsengumi. At the time, mourning an unknown soldier was considered an act of rebellion against the new forces. So if no one did it, it would have remained as it was. That's why there was an Aizu samurai who lowered his own status to that of an outcast to bury the unknown soldier."

It is often said that people from Aizu are very loyal and honorable, and actual historical episodes support this claim.

"The people of Aizu are incredibly honest and straightforward. It might seem foolish, but they didn't believe in 'a white lie is sometimes necessary,' but rather 'lying is shameful.' This might be a historical characteristic."

"We can't share the time that has passed. But we can share space. If we have space, we can connect with the past. When you walk around Nanokamachi, you can feel that."

The people who built the town, and the people who are trying to preserve it.

From the tranquil townscape, one can feel a strong connection between the past and the present.

The walking tour of Nanokamachi Street proposed by Mr. Shoji was, in its earnestness, overflowing with the spirit of Aizu.

Place: Nanukamachi, Aizuwakamatsu City Nearest station: Nanukamachi Station